LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The City of Little Rock is now celebrating after receiving one of the biggest grants the capital city has ever seen.
Arkansas recently received $32 million in federal money aimed to help better protect both cyclists and pedestrians. More than half of that money will be going to Little Rock and will be used in much-needed areas where there have been deadly accidents.
The Metroplan organization shared how each year there is an average of about 30 people in Central Arkansas who are killed in a pedestrian versus car collision. Now, both Metroplan and the City of Little Rock have been working to get that number down to zero.
"That's a lot. You know, 30 [or] 35 people who wake up one morning and [don't] go home because of a crash is way too many," said Casey Covington, the Director of Metroplan.
It's a sad statistic and one that many in the area want to go down. Now, one of the biggest grants that Little Rock has ever received will hopefully help achieve that.
"We need to continue to fuel our growth and our sustainability through filling potholes [and] paving new streets and sidewalks and roads throughout our city," said Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr.
Little Rock has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for $25 million dollars. The grant is called Safe Streets For All and the money will go towards making the roads more accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists.
This includes pavement markings, creating more sidewalks and bicycle lanes, and more street lighting.
The five roads that will see upgrades thanks to this money are University, John Barrow, Geyer Springs, Chicot, and the Woodrow/12th Street intersection.
This renovation project is part of a larger plan to get the number of pedestrian fatalities down to zero. It's called Vision Zero and with the help of safer roads, the city of Little Rock hopes to achieve that goal.
However, construction on these roads is not expected to start for another two to three years. The city first needs to utilize architects for the design changes.